F1 Fanatic round-up: 11/2/2010

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Day two in Jerez. Internet connection out here is pretty patchy so I’m afraid the round-ups are going live a bit later than usual. Here’s today’s:

Links

Senna and Grosjean join the queue at Stefan GP? (Adam Cooper)

“Others in the mix include Romain Grosjean, Christian Klien and most interestingly, Bruno Senna. Grosjean apparently has some money, while the last named has a contract with Campos. However sources suggest that he has already been in touch, and if he has, it’s because he knows better than most which way the wind is blowing in Spain.”

Ecclestone confirms Serbian F1 ambitions (Autocar)

“Although US F1 are struggling to be ready in time, they are resolutely determined to be on the grid as promptly as possible. Campos may, on the other hand, be seriously faltering. If they fail to make it, then expect the Toyota TF110 to be on the grid at least in time for the fourth race in China on April 18.”

Comment of the day

Epi has an interesting thought on the unusual device being used by McLaren yesterday:

Fluid flow/aerodynamics is impossibly complex mathematically, so rather than being an exact science ‘models’ are made of what airflow does.

The only way to check/improve these models are with real life tests, if the airflow measured is slightly different to be expected then these models can be revised to better match what actually happens. Then using the improved model a closer simulation can be run.

I guess in a way that device is the antithesis of the Virgin design process.
epi

Happy birthday!

No F1 Fanatic birthdays today. If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

It’s John Surtees’ 76th birthday today. The great champion, the only man to win titles in the premier categories of bike and car racing, tragically lost his 18 year-old son Henry last year, who was killed in a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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39 comments on “F1 Fanatic round-up: 11/2/2010”

  1. There’s some rumours in the Spanish press this morning that Volkswagen are going to take over Campos’s entry.

    1. I don’t mean this in the way ‘I don’t believe you’, but I’d be genuinely surprised.
      I’ve been saying for years I only expected VW to join F1 once diesel engines are allowed, and then would enter as Audi.

      But I’d rather VW buy out Campos than that joker Texiera

      1. VW are also very good at small capacity (1.4, 1.6) petrol turbo engines. You will notice that many European car ranges have quite a few of this type of engine now.

      2. Don’t know how things go in Europe, but here in Brazil road cars are not allowed to run with diesel, so every VW car here (and there are many) run on gasoline (and ethanol) engines.

    2. I was going to post this as well. Surprising if true but good for Campos and their employees.

      1. So Honda,Toyota & BWM pulls out with Mercedes & Volkswagen join in.So the manufacturer’s days are not over yet.Question is who will they enter?

        VW,Audi,Bentley,Bugatti,Porche,Lambo,Seat or Skoda?

        1. I thought Mercedes was already there and had been for many year.

          1. Yes but only as an engine supplier,but they did owned 40% of McLaren (I think)

        2. They could enter that Bugatti “road car” that was on Top Gear :-)

          1. Veyron would make a fairly spectacular Le Mans car……….?

          2. A Veyron would get creamed in F1.

          3. Something about a “reference plane” springs to mind….

  2. It would be a good news…as time goes by I’m thinking that Ecclestone is right on Campos chances…maybe Volkswagen would be a good money and momentum injection.

  3. What strikes me about that quote from Ecclestone, is that it’s the first time he has had something resembling a positive comment on USF1. And although it’s completely hypocritical for me to take on Bernie’s comments when he says what I want to hear, this can’t be anything else than an encouraging reflection on whatever it is that they’re doing behind the scenes.

    1. Actually, another interesting bit is that he seems to say that Stefan GP would likely miss the first three races even if they do ‘replace’ Campos; which makes the plot even thicker given Jean Todt’ and then the FIA’s apparently conflicting statements on teams missing races…

      1. I agree, Ecclestone’s comment suggested to me that the rules wouldn’t allow Stefan GP to replace Campos until after they have missed three races, unless Campos officially threw the towel in before then I suppose, and his comment on USF1 seemed to say that they will make the grid as soon as possible which may not be the first race.

      2. Wouldn’t the reason for Bernie saying that Stefan GP could take part from the Chinese GP be down to the fact that Campos would have until Malaysia as a grace period, rather than Stefan GP not being ready?

      3. That isn’t a quote from Bernie Ecclestone that’s a quote from Alan Henry the “journalist” who wrote the article for autocar. If you actually read the short article which sources itself from an even shorter article in the Sunday Express you’ll see that Bernie is actually quoted as saying:

        “I think we won’t see Campos and I don’t think we will see the Americans… They are going to ask to miss three races. In the Concorde Agreement, the teams are allowed to miss three races.”

        He’s not quoted as saying anything about the Chinese GP and to be honest there is no indication of when he actually made these statements so it could well be regurgitation of an earlier interview.

        1. Thanks for the clarification K – had a look at the article now. Back to square one, then, I guess.

          1. Despite my scepticism I have a feeling USF1 will make it. Although they have been quite quiet for the last two weeks (there goes my scepticism again). Campos on the other hand… It looks worse and worse. I guess for both teams it’s all about money at the moment, if they can get their hands on loads-a-money then they’ll be there. I know you’ve been routing for USF1, I would be surprised if they didn’t make it.

          2. Thanks again K, I’ve been seeing stuff off and on, here and there, too. I think that my rooting for USF1 increases in direct proportion to the unsubstantiated flak they get from many commentators here for some reason. Plus, it just really would be great for F1 to gain a real foothold in North America (or South America, for that matter).

  4. But would VW use a Cosworth engine? Dalara chassis?
    They would probably want to build both them selves.
    And why Campos, why did they not buy Toyata when it still had its grid position?
    I would be suprised by this move.

    1. I would imagine they can pay Cosworth to change the name to Volkswagen.

  5. Seeing that it will rain forever in the Jerez tests does this make missing the dry test in Valencia even more important for the teams? I mean, 7 teams have 1000km testing in dry weather more then the others.
    Looks a massive gap to me.

  6. Sorry for the spam, but did you see the Indy design contenders? Are they going to switch the name to Bat Mobile Racing?

    1. I’m wondering whether F1 should watch out… they make the 2010 F1 cars look archaic.

  7. Keith, I was wondering if you could put up some lap times from last years testing. I think it would be interesting to compare how teams went in testing last year to how they finished in the championship.

  8. @ Macca

    PART 1
    Day-1

    1.Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:18.742
    2. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 1:19.288
    3. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:20.134
    4. Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren, 1:20.164
    5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:20.261
    6. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:20.678
    7. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:21.338
    8. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 1:21.547
    9. Christian Klien, BMW Sauber, 1:22.098

    Day-2

    1.Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:18.073
    2. Takuma Sato, Toro Rosso, 1:18.601
    3. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 1:18.673
    4. Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren, 1:19.032
    5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:19.334
    6. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:19.631
    7. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:19.907
    8. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:20.309
    9. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:20.365
    10. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:20.490
    11. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:20.954

    Day 3

    1.Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:17.258
    2. Takuma Sato, Toro Rosso, 1:17.520
    3. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:18.049
    4. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:18.782
    5. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:19.050
    6. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:19.319
    7. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:19.388
    8. Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren, 1:19.499
    9. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:19.559
    10. Christian Klien, BMW Sauber, 1:19.738

    PART-2

    Day-1

    1. Sebastien Buemi, Red Bull, 1:17.704
    2. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:19.360
    3. Brendon Hartley, Red Bull, 1:19.586
    4. Christian Klien, BMW Sauber, 1:19.655
    5. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams, 1:20.704

    Day-2

    1. Sebastien Buemi, Red Bull, 1:17.029
    2. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:17.319
    3. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:19.303
    4. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:20.006
    5. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:20.332

    Day-3

    1.Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:16.617
    2. Sebastien Buemi, Red Bull, 1:16.998
    3. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:19.013
    4. Christian Klien, BMW Sauber, 1:19.066
    5. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:19.341

    Part-3

    Day 1

    1.Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:19.660
    2. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:22.177
    3. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams, 1:22.443
    4. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:22.634
    5. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 1:23.313

    Day 2

    1.Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:17.591
    2. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:20.799
    3. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:21.321
    4. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:21.451
    5. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 1:21.908

    Day 3

    1.Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 1:18.493
    2. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:20.737
    3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:20.738
    4. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:20.898
    5. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:21.307

    Day 4

    1.Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 1:17.472
    2. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:19.632
    3. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:19.846
    4. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:21.217
    5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:21.313
    6. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, no time

    Part 4

    Day 1

    1.Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:19.055
    2. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:20.330
    3. Kamui Kobayashi, Toyota, 1:20.699
    4. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:21.171
    5. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:21.292
    6. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 1:21.584
    7. Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren, 1:21.831
    8. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 1:22.011

    Day 2

    1.Timo Glock, Toyota, 1:30.979
    2. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:31.327
    3. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:31.451
    4. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 1:31.547
    5. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:32.220
    6. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:33.371
    7. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 1:33.476
    8. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, no time

    Day 3

    1.Timo Glock, Toyota, 1:19.814
    2. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:20.238
    3. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:20.296
    4. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:20.535
    5. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:20.621
    6. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:21.021
    7. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:21.069
    8. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:21.412

    Day 4

    1.Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:19.945
    2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:20.250
    3. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:20.520
    4. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 1:20.540
    5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:20.894
    6. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:20.948
    7. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:21.302
    8. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:21.411

    Day 5

    1.Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:20.052
    2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:20.404
    3. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:21.272
    4. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:22.219
    5. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:22.226
    6. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 1:23.119

    Part 5

    Day 1

    1.Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:19.236
    2. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:19.819
    3. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams FW31, 1:20.015

    Day 2

    1. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:18.343
    2. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:18.398
    3. Jenson Button, Brawn BGP 001, 1:18.892
    4. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:19.513
    5. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:19.783

    Day 3

    1.Jenson Button, Brawn BGP 001, 1:17.844
    2. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:18.071
    3. Nelson Piquet, Renault R29, 1:18.382
    4. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:19.121

    Day 4

    1. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren MP4-24, 1:18.202
    2. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams FW31, 1:20.023

    Day 5

    1. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams FW31, 1:17.494
    2. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren MP4-24, 1:17.946

    Can’t find the date of the testing,but that’s all I have

    1. All of which goes to prove that we shouldn’t take a blind bit of notice of testing times.

      1. You can tell a lot from testing times if you know what and how they are testing.

    2. Thank wasiF1, thats very interesting stuff.

  9. Happy Birthday Mr Surtees, the world of motor racing still misses your son.

  10. Silverstone officially using the arena circuit for this year’s Grand Prix.

    http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81407

  11. Regarding this VW rumor, I say: it’s crap created by the Spanish media, who cannot bear the thought of one of “their men” faltering. VW has stated soooo often, that F1 is not an option for them and I doubt their opinion has changed now. And even if it should have, they would simply aspire for an entry of their own and wouldn’t take over a mediocre pseudo-team with a chassis of unknown quality.

    Regarding Stefan GP: The best thing about that team is, that it won’t have the need for pay drivers, seeing as apparently not only Stefanovic but also other Serbian investors are behind it, therefore I doubt either of the named drivers will have a shot, well, Klien maybe if they really believe his BMW expierence could help in terms of developement, but that’s about it.

    1. VW has said they might consider the new engines though. Especially if there hybrid or 1.5 liter turbo’s or something exotic

  12. My My imagine Schumacher side by side with Kobayashi on the first bend after the start!!

  13. So is Peter Windsor selling both the FIA and my country a line of backend butter or what? I’ll admit I am not a fan of my country the last 97 years, but I was hoping to see what our engineers could do with Formula 1. I should have known something was up when they chose North Carolina as a home base for 2 reasons: 1. Really? N.C.? Backwards hillbilly thinking may work in Nascar, but a beer and guess won’t get you far in F1 and 2. Really? There weren’t maybe, 10 other states that would be better fit for weather, cost and still have the technology… especially weather!
    So I guess I’m asking all of you if you have any reason to believe in USF1 at all? They’ve had a year to simply build a car to test and it appears they will, maybe, just barely show up on fumes to the start of a race in a car that has never done a lap!

    p.s. If you are from N.Carolina I apologize. I’ve met several highly intelligent people from the northern area of your state. I was being general about it. The east side of Washington is very comparable to my remarks so please take them with a grain of salt.

  14. I could see the VW/Cosworth Campos deal working.As far as I can remember,Volkswagen/Audi have a stake in Cosworth.
    Also about Stefan GP,if they are using the Toyota 2010 car,then if I was a mechanic at SGP,i would check the gas pedals before letting it race!

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